Wire-drawing apparatus



June 24, 193.0.I Is. MCMULLAN r-:r m., 1,765,437

`WIRE DRAWING APPARATUS' Filed March 2e, 1925 z 'sheets-sheet 1 b ND v s. MCMULLAN'EIT AL WIRE DRAWING APPAREUS` June 24, 1930.

Filed March 26, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented lune 261, 183@ ratas.

A wearer rarest @raies SAMUEL MCMULLAN, 0F DOWN'ERS GROVE; AND ARTHUR EHRHOIH) SCHULZ, 015' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS T0 WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, Olli' NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YUM waan-hmmm@ arrrcs Application nled March 26, 1928. Serial No. WMM.

This inventionrelates to wire drawing apparatus, and more particularly to improvements in operating control mechanisms t refor. 1 t

he invention is particularly applicable to that class of wire-drawing apparatus embodying a capstan for drawing the wire through oneor more reducing dies, and a coiling drum-for taking up the drawn Wire. ln the yoperation of apparatus of this type, the wire may sometimes break due to oneA cause or another, and unless the coiling drum isimmediately stopped, such breakage may in some instances be followed by a sudden uncoiling'of the drawn wire and alsweeping stroke of the breken end, constituting a source 'of danger which must be guarded against. Furthermore, the expansive uncoiling of the wire which results yfrom a continued rotation of the coiling drum after such breakage incurs much labor and loss of time bythe attendant and also decreases the eiciency of the/apparatus. l

The principal o ject of the present invention is the provision, in a wire drawing aparatus, of a simple and efficient mechanism or positively stopping the coiling drum when y the wire breaks'or comes to an end.

' Fig. 2 is a Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, reference being had'to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a wire drawing apparatus embodying the features of the invention; w l

fragmentary plan view therelof" Fig. 8 is an enlarged elevational view, partly in section, of the improved control mechanism;

Fig'. iis a plan View of the mechanism shownin Fig. 3, and l Figi- 5 is a' skeleton sectional view taken on the line5-5 of'- Fig.f2 showing a portion of `the driving mechanism and clutch.

Although the"inve`ntion is herein illustrat'ed and described in connection with a specific type of .wire drawing apparatus, itis to be understood that the invention is capable of other applications and should be ranism of the apparatus is mounted. Suitably journaled- Wiliinethe housing 14 is a pair of horizontally disposed shafts l17 and 18, the shaft 17 being driven -by means of a suitable sprocket chain drive indicated at 19 (Fig. 2) from a motor (not shown) posi- ,tionedl in a basement or pitlocated below the apparatus. The shaft 18 is driven at a suitable speedv from the shaft 17 by means of a suitable sprocket chain drive indicated at 20. The shaft '17 extends through the rear jwall of the housing 11 and has secured at its forward end a conical or stepped drawing capstan 21 which is provided with a plurality of steps of gradually increasingy diameters.. The shaft 18 also extends through the rear wall ofthe housing 11 and rotatably v carries, at its forward end, a plurality of .independent sheaves 22 of gradually increasing diameters. Secured tothe shaft 18 adjacent to the smallest sheave 22 isa grooved pulley 23.

Secured on the inner side of the rear wall of the housing 11 intermediate the shafts 17 and 18 is a dielbox or support 24 adapted to hold 4a plurality of wire drawing dies 25, the dies being positioned and retained there- 'in with their vaxes suitably disposed with respect to the periphery of the lstepped capstan 21, the grooved pulley 23, and the sheaves 22. Suitable means (not shown) is provided for lubricating the dies 25 while mounted in the die box 24 and also for lulorieating the capstan`21.

After .the dies have upon the wire or rod which is to be drawn, it is passed over a uide sheave '27 rotatably mounted at the le t end ofthe apparatus (Fig. 1 and then over the top of and around the grooved pulley 23.v After the wire has 190 been accurately strung I.

been wrapped one or more turns around the pulley 23, the first of the series of dies is properly positioned in the die boX 24 and .the wire is then passed around the smallest is continued until the last die 25 has been properly positioned in the die boX andthe final reducing die 26 has been properly positioned as shown in Fig. 2. The end of the wire ,is thenpassed through an apertured member 30 which constitutes a part of the Y Serial No. 756,405, filed December 17, 1924.`

. improved control mechanism hereinafterydescribed.

'lhe end of the wire is then suitably attached to a rotatable drum 33 of a coil takeup mechanism indicated, generally, by the numeral 32. rlhe drum 33 is rigidly fixed to the upper end of a Vvertically disposed shaft 34 suitably journaled in a supporting standard 35 secured to the base10. rlhe shaft 34 is driven from a horizontally disposedA shaft 37 (Figs. 2 and 5) by means of suitable gearing (not shown).

Suitably journaled within the housing 14 is a horizontally disposed shaft 39 which is driven from the shaft 17 by means of a suitable Sprocket chain drive 40. The shaft 39 is `operatively connected to a suitably journaled vertically disposed shaft 42 by means of bevel gears 43 and 44. Keyed to the lower end of the shaft 42 is a bevel gear 45 mesh-- ing with a bevel gear 46 secured to the shaft ,37.

ln Fig. 5, the reference numeral 48 indicates a suitable friction clutch which is adaptedto operatively connect the sprocket chain drive 40 with the shaft 39, thereby controlling the rotation of the shaft 39 from which 'the coiling drum 33 is driven. The clutch `is manually controlled by a lever 50 secured to one end of a rod 51 suitably journaled in the frame of the apparatus. Keyed to the rod 51i`s' a cam 52 which operatively engages a roller 53 carried at the lower end of a shifting fork 54, the shifting fork being pivoted intermediate its ends as indicated at 55.

For a more detailed disclosure of the wire drawing apparatus thus far described, reference is directed to the copending application of William F. Hosford and David Levinger,

Since the present invention is not concerned with the details of any particular construction or type of wire drawing apparatus, those details have been omitted from this application for the sake ofv simplicity.

Referring now'particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, the improved automatic control mechanism comprises a vertically disposed spring actuated bar 56 which carries at its upper end mear-ar the apertured member 30 hereinbefore referred to. The bar 56 is loosely mounted in a vertically disposed cylindrical tube 57 which is rigidly secured to the base 10. Fastened to the upper end ofthe tube 57 is a cap 58 which is suitably apertured to p-rovidea sliding lit for the bar 56. Encircling the bar 56 and disposed between the cap 58 and a nut 60 threaded at the lower end of the bar is a compression spring 62 which tends tov urge the bar downwardly.

Secured to the rod 51 adjacent t-o the hand lever 50 is a pinion 64 having meshing therewith ai vertically disposed rack 65 `slidably mounted in acylindrical hollow member 66. secured to the base 10. F astened to the upper end of the member 66 is a cap 67 which is suitably apertured toprovide a sliding fit for the rack 65. Encircling the rack 65 and disposed between the cap 67 and a disk 68 fastened to' the lower end of the rack is a compression spring 70 which tends to urge the rack dowwardly. Referring to Fig. 3, it is obvious that a downward movement of the rack 65 causes the pinion 64 to rotate in a clockwise direction, which motion is transmitted through the rod 51 to the cam 52, thereby disengaging the clutch 48 causing the apparatus to come to a stop.

During the normal operation of the apparatus, the rack 65 is held in its uppermost position by means of a latch 71 engaging a slot 72 formed in the back ef the rack 65 (F ig. rlhe latch 71 is secured to a pin 73 4ro'- tatably journaled in parallel ears 74, 74

formed integral with the cap 67. Fastened'A is a lever 75, the free end of which is movable in a vertical slot 76 formed in the tube 57.

After the wire with the dies properly strung thereon has been threaded through the apparatus and the end thereof has been inserted through the apertured member 30 and fastened to the coiling drum 33 as hereinbefore described, the rotation of the coiling drum is started by turningA the clutch handle 50 in a counter-clockwise direction to engage the clutch, whereupon the latch 71 engages the slot 7 2 in the rack 65, thereby holding the clutch 1in its engaged or operative position againstthe tension of the spring 70. A compression spring 7 8 mounted in the Alower portion of the tube 57 serves to urge the free end of the lever 75 upwardly thereby causing engagement of the latch 71 with the slot 72.

The tension in the wire passing through the member 30`to the coiling drum normally predominates over the tension of the spring 62 to hold the bar 56 in its raised position (Fig. 3), wherein the lower end thereof doesnot engage the lever 75. When a break occurs in the wire or when the end of the wire has passed through the apparatus, it is obvious that the amount of force or tension of the wire urging the bar 56 upwardly drops to `zero almost instantaneously. The energy stored in the spring 62 overcomes the tension of the spring 78 and suddenly pushes the bar 56 downwardly whereby the lower end` thereof strikes the lever turning it in a clockwise direction. This causes the latch (71 to become disengaged from the slot 72, whereupon the energy stored in the spring 70 serves to push the rack 65 downwardly, thereby rotating the pinion 64 together with the rod 51 in a clockwise direction. This motion actuates through the cam 52 and the ,shifting fork 54 to disengage the clutch, .thereby stopping the rotation of the coiling drum. f

Fastened to the lower end of the rack 65 is a leather washer fitting snugly inside the cylinder 66. This provides an air cushion or dash pot for the rack 65 which is controlled by means of a valve`81 serving to regulate the speed at which the clutch handle is thrown. A compression spring 84 serves to further cushion the downward stroke of the rack 65.

A foot treadle 85 and a link 86 connected I directly with the arm 75 enables the operator to stop the 'coiling drum at any time, should it become necessary to do so before the entire coil has been applied thereon.

The above described clutch actuating mechanism is a valuable improvement in Wire drawing apparatus since it eliminates the necessity of close supervision by the operator, thereby permitting him to eliciently attend to more than one machine. With the use of a clutch control mechanism embodying the features of this invention the operator is not required to hurry to the clutch handle in order to stop the coilinv drum when the wire breaks or comes to an en Furthermore, much time is saved since the clutch is disengaged automatically and immediately upon the breakage of the wire or upon the end thereof passing through the apparatus, thus enabling the operator to unload the coil and again start the operation of the apparatus in much shorter time.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wire drawing apparatus, a wire ceiling element, means fordriving said element, a clutch for controlling said driving means, a pinion for operating said clutch, a spring actuated rack for operating said pin--r ion, and a resiliently mounted latch actuated by the wire being coiled for controlling the actuation of said rack.

2. In a wire drawing apparatus,a coiling element for taking up drawn wire, means for driving said coiling element, a clutch for controlling said driving means, a rotatable shaft for operatin said clutch, a pinion secured to said sha a spring actuated rack engaging said pinion, a resiliently mounted latch controlling the actuation of said rack,

and a spring actuated lunger controlled by' the wire being coiledP for operating said latch.

3. In a wire drawing apparatus, a wire coiling element, means including a clutch mechanism for driving the element, a pivoted member for operating the clutch mechanism, arotatable shaft carrying a cam for operating the pivoted member, a pinion securedto the shaft, a spring actuated rack engaging the inion, a resiliently mounted latch for controliing the actuation of the rack, and a spring actuated plunger controlled by the wire being coiled for operating the latch.

4. In a wire drawing apparatus, a wire coiling element, means includinga clutch mechanism for driving the element, a pivoted member for operating the clutch mechanism, a rotatable shaft carrying a cam for 'operating the ivoted member, a pinion secured to the sha a spring actuated rack operatively engaging the pinion, and means actuated by the wire being coiled in response to variations in the tension thereof lfor controlling the operation of the rack.-

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 11th day of March, A. D. 1926. f

" iso 

